Zhelesnik, who turned 100 over the weekend, is the oldest teacher in America, teaching home economics five days a week at Sundance grade school in North Plainfield, New Jersey.

Zhelesnik was a homemaker most of her life before taking the job when she was 81 and is so dedicated she hasn’t even taken a sick day since she was 98.

She absolutely loves her job, with one student saying, “And all the children love her, because she's so nice, so compassionate.”

The students at her school recently threw her a birthday party and Zhelesnik has no designs on leaving anytime in the near future. She said, "What else is there in life? Children make the whole world."